Love's Cursed
by MikkakirE
Summary: When everyone falls in love with her, Sakura learns that love is like water. It's nice to be showered with it, but it sucks to be drowning in it. How will the men in Team 7 react to her situation? A Sakura x Mystery Person fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Love's Cursed**  
Author(s)**: Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)  
**Pairing**: Sakura?  
**Series**: Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: We don't own Naruto. Sadly.

-----

It felt oddly different that morning. For some reason, her mother hadn't yelled at her for taking too long in the bath. She instead encouraged it with a cheery, "Oh, Sakura-chan! Go ahead and take as long as you want!" Another strange event that occured was when Sakura had jogged down the stairs. She found her mother cooking her favorite breakfast. Sure, it doesn't seem weird at first, but when you usually have to force your mother into making your favorite breakfast, it definitely feels like you need to head for the hills exclaiming, "Holy crap, hell just froze over!" Despite this oddity, Sakura welcomed it with a smile and a phrase of gratitude.

As she had gone out the door to meet Naruto and Sasuke at the bridge, Sakura ran into Ino. "What do you want, Ino-buta?" she spat at her rival with rudeness stinging in her voice. Ino had only continued to grin eerily at her, and caused Sakura to blink in confusion. Perhaps Ino had some strange plot up her sleeve, but she hadn't bothered to delve too deep in that idea. Suddenly, Ino had pulled out a large bouquet of lillies, and told Sakura, "Sakura-chan, I just want to strengthen our friendship. So, here's a bouquet of lillies courtesy of the Yamanaka Flower Shop." The girl then shoved the flowers towards Sakura, and headed off in her own direction. Sakura, alone and confused by Ino's sudden change of attitude, had fondled the lillies carefully in deep thought.

Hell hadn't just turned into a giant cave of ice; it had turned into Hotel Shangri-La.

-----

"Damn, what the hell is going on today?" Sakura thought as she walked along the streets. So far, every girl wanted to become her absolute best friend, and every older woman was incredibly nice to her. It wasn't so bad, until she started to run into people of the opposite sex. Older men gave her compliments that made her shudder uncomfortably, while younger boys blushed around her. And worst of all, boys that were her age suddenly began to confess their love to her. It was so gross.

Her ears suddenly twitched as a voice reached them, calling out, "Haruno-san, Haruno-san!" Sakura inwardly cursed, and swung around with her finger pointed directly at the male, "Don't you come near me! I DON'T want to go out with you, alright?" He slunk back into whatever depth of hell he came from, water spilling pitifully from his eyes. Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance, and she began to stomp off in the direction of the bridge, "Jeez!"

-----

"Sakura-chan! Ohayou!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he ran up to Sakura, who had just arrived at the bridge. She smiled and gave him a nod, "Ohayou." Sakura made her way past the excited Naruto, and headed toward Sasuke, who was looking down at the floor silently. "Ohayou, Sasuke-kun!" she said to him with a shiny smile, bending slightly to look up at his face. He stared at her and gave no reply. The girl stood erect once more, hands clasped behind her back, thinking, "Ah, atleast Naruto is fine... Oh, why couldn't have Sasuke-kun confessed his undying love for me! Shannarou!" Sasuke leaned against the rail boredly, and tried to busy himself by staring up at the sky. "Damnit, where's Kakashi-sensei? He's always so damn late!" Naruto grumbled, pacing back and forth across the mouth of the bridge.

"All we can do is wait, Naruto-baka, and hope that he comes here fast." Sakura said to the blond shinobi, crossing her arms impatiently. He replied with a groan of frustration and continued to pace incessantly. Fifteen minutes had passed and she grew tired of watching Naruto walk around, "Stop pacing! It's starting to get annoying!" Naruto shrugged, and scratched the top of his head as he began to study the area surrounding them. His blue eyes caught a slight movement. In a puff of smoke, Kakashi appeared sitting on the ledge of the bridge, "Hello! Sorry I'm late, I --"

"Usotsuki! There's no excuse for your lateness, sensei!" Sakura and Naruto yelled, pointing angrily at the grey-haired jounin. Kakashi put his hands up in defense, and said, "Calm down, calm down. Let me explain!" He disappeared in another poof, and reappeared beside Sakura, smiling. The girl flinched as her sensei put his hand on her shoulder, rapidly thinking, "Oh no! Don't tell me..." She glanced down at Kakashi's hand, turning red at the very thought. Her weird and yet conceited thought-bubble burst when Kakashi started to speak.

"Well, on my way here, I kept hearing her name," he began, pointing at Sakura with his free hand, "I listened in on every conversation about her, and apparently... Sakura is the girl of the day! Almost everyone in Konohagakure is speaking about our little cherry blossom -- in a good way, of course. However, it's somewhat strange."

"What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked inquisitvely, inching his way towards Kakashi and his teammates, "Maybe Sakura-chan has just improved so much that everyone admires her now!" Sasuke snorted rudely, earning a glare from his male teammate. The jounin shook his head, "No, Naruto, not because of that. From what I've learned, many of the older women, older men and girls keep complimenting Sakura. Her looks, fighting skills, strength and etcetera. Even stranger is the fact that many of the males her age are doing so as well. They all say that they want Sakura as a girlfriend, and want to confess their undying love for her."

Naruto and Sasuke stared blankly at Kakashi, then at Sakura, then back at Kakashi:

"WHAT?"

-----

**Authors' Note**:

Mikka: Oho, so begins our first multi-chapter fic. n.n;  
Erika: I know! Hmm.. This will be a challenge since we have sophomore year to deal with right now... BUT! We love to face a challenge...!  
Mikka: Ohyes! Thanks for reading, and, uh, please read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**:Love's Cursed**  
Author(s)**: Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)  
**Pairing**: Sakura?  
**Series**:Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: We still don't own Naruto. - Damnit.

-----

Sakura's jade eyes darted between the floor and Sasuke, face flushing as she took notice of the Uchiha's sudden outburst. Her inner self quickly did a mental celebration jig, squealing and yelling giddily with an occasional 'Shannarou'. As Kakashi began to speak again, she inwardly silenced herself. Her teacher nodded at both boys, "I'm afraid it's true. There are many suitors out there for Sakura."

"What?" Naruto yelled, "Nobody can touch my Sakura-chan! Why, any guy who compliments, touches or even looks at her will be beaten up by me!" The blond shinobi continued to throw his mindless tantrum, throwing punches and kicks into the air as he rambled. "Shut up, dobe." Sasuke grumbled as he hastily regained his cool composure. He stood up straight and casually shoved his hands into his pockets, staring directly at his sensei, "So? What do you want us to do about it?" Before Kakashi could reply, Naruto jumped in front of Sasuke, "What are you talking about, Sasuke-teme? We're going to kick everyone's ass until we find out what's going on!"

With absolutely perfect timing, a figure made his way towards Sakura. As he came closer, Kakashi identified him as the one and only Hyuuga Neji. Neji came up to Sakura and ignored the three men. Taking her hand and looking deeply into her eyes, he greeted smoothly, "Good morning, Sakura-san. How are you today? You're looking lovely as usual." Naruto and Sasuke twitched, staring at Neji as he tried to work his magic on their female teammate. Kakashi only blinked, and let his hand slide off Sakura's shoulder as she began to blush and look away. Enjoying Sakura's embarrassment, Neji smiled and said, "During my early morning training, I found a trail of cherry blossoms. They were so beautiful that I immediately thought of you. I ended up becoming so lost in my thoughts, that I somehow followed the trail and found you, Sakura-san. Perhaps it was fate that brought us together?" He grinned wider; "Anyway, I was just wondering if you would -- Wait a minute. Naruto, what are you doing?"

The fake Sakura blinked, her Henge no Jutsu plan obviously thwarted. She immediately smacked away Neji's hand, and returned to her original form -- as a grinning Uzumaki Naruto. He laughed, and stuck a tongue out at the white-eyed boy. "Hyuuga." a voice called down from the top of the bridge, earning Neji's attention. He gazed upward and found the true Sakura clinging to the arm of the cold-eyed Uchiha Sasuke. "Get out of here, Hyuuga." Sasuke said in an indifferent tone.

"This isn't your territory, Uchiha." Neji replied as he gestured his head towards Sakura, "Besides, I only wanted to have a private chat with that lovely little cherry blossom there." Once again, Sakura's face flushed violently at Neji's words. She opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto cut her off. "Neji, I'm not going to let you talk to my Sakura-chan alone! As long as I'm around, you're not getting anywhere near her! Go train with TenTen or something before I go and beat your ass into the ground!" he exclaimed angrily, pointing a finger at Neji. "I'm not yours, Naruto-baka!" the pink-haired kunoichi interjected, continuing to hold onto Sasuke's arm. Naruto blinked, and sweatdropped, "E-eh..."

"If you aren't Sakura-san, I do not wish to speak to you." Neji said aloud. Then in an instant, he swiftly went behind Sasuke and Sakura, and gently pulled the girl away from Sasuke. He pulled her towards him, and held her hands in place as his white eyes fixated upon her face. Sakura turned pink, and quickly jerked herself away from him, jumping down onto the bridge. Seeing Neji's strange actions, Naruto's eye twitched in anger, "What the hell, Neji? How dare you pull that stupid stunt on Sakura-chan! I swear, if you ever come THAT close to Sakura-chan again, I'll freaking kill you!" He continued to rant until Sasuke jumped down and smacked him on the head, "You talk too much, dobe."

"And you hardly talk at all, Sasuke-teme." Naruto retorted. Sasuke gave a short 'Hn', which made the blond even more frustrated. "Sasuke-teme...!" he said while grinding his teeth. Like a hunter stalking his prey, Neji followed Sakura and smirked at her. She shuddered slightly, brow raised in a bewildered manner. "Why are all of these guys flirting with me all of a sudden? Jeez, why can't Sasuke-kun flirt with me! Whatever happened to 'Quality over quantity'! SHANNAROU!" she thought with an exasperated mental groan. As Sasuke and Naruto bickered - rather, Naruto bickered while Sasuke remained silent, Neji approached Sakura one last time and asked, "Anyway, Sakura-san, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me tonight." The girl's eyes widened as she stuttered, "A-Anou... Etou --"

"We're going to train soon, so, 'no'." Sasuke interposed coldly, glaring at Neji, virtually throwing kunai at him.

"I'm sure you don't need her for training today, Uchiha." Neji replied as he returned the imaginary kunai with an equal force.

"Nonsense!" Kakashi chimed in with a small smile, "We need all members of Team 7 in order to train properly. Now, Neji, you should return to your team and train as well." Neji gave a slight frown, "Fine. Maybe some other day, Sakura-san?" She blinked and asked, "Neji, are you feeling okay?" He answered courteously, "Of course I am! I'll see you soon, my little cherry blossom." Neji smiled, turned around and left.

"Wha'... What the heck! He's starting to act like Bushy Brows!" Naruto yelled, bringing his fists up to his chest. "Oi, baka! Don't make fun of Lee-san, okay! That's rude!" Sakura shouted, crossing her arms then toning down her voice, "Anyway, let's pay a visit to Tsunade-sama and see what's been going on lately." The two boys nodded and Kakashi said, "You three can go by yourselves; I have to run an errand. I'll see you three around!" With that, he poofed away, leaving his students to the attend to the matter.

"Okay, off to Tsunade-sama." Sakura said, turning on her heel. Side by side, she and her two teammates began their journey to the hokage's office.

-----

**Authors' Note**:

Erika: Yay! Second chapter complete! We've been working on it...during class and home... -cough-  
Mikka: Ahah. It was all worth it though! Don't you just love OOC!Neji? Anyway, everything will be explained next time! n.n  
Erika: Next chapter! Will the mystery of everyone's strange behaviour in Konoha be answered?  
Mikka & Erika: Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Love's Cursed**  
Author(s)**: Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)  
**Pairing**: Sakura?  
**Series**: Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: Nope. Still don't own Naruto...

-----

The three ninjas stood outside the door to the hokage's office, hesitating for a brief moment. As they took in a deep breath, hundreds of other breaths joined in chorus, which caused them to become irate. With a vein throbbing in her forehead, Sakura curled her hand into a fist as she spun around to yell, "Go the hell away! I'm never going to date any of you, you idiotic stalkers!" The large group of lovesick boys, whom have followed her since the beginning of her journey, sighed in a defeat, and retreated with tears in their eyes. The object of their affection let out a slightly stifled groan, opened the door and entered the room grumpily. As she opened her mouth to begin the interrogation of the hokage, she was cut off by Naruto, who exclaimed, "Oi! Tsunade-baa-chan! We need you to answer some questions about everyone's weird behavior today!"

Tsunade lifted her head, and dropped the empty sake bottle on the desk, glaring coldly at the boy for disturbing her 'nap'. "What are you talking about, Naruto?" she asked with a low growl in her voice. "Well, you see, Tsunade-sama --" Sakura began to explain, but she was cut off by the older woman. Tsunade said in a delighted tone, "Oh! Sakura-chan! It's a pleasure to see you in my office today! Would you like anything to eat? To drink?", holding out her empty sake bottle as an offering. Sakura and Naruto flinched slightly, disturbed by the hokage's strange behavior, while Sasuke's reaction was only a simple hand-shove into his pockets. The pink-haired kunoichi began again, "A-Anou... No, thank you, Tsunade-sama. We're here to ask why --"

"Why is everyone acting super nice and loving to Sakura-chan!" Naruto finished for her, causing Tsunade to snap at him, "It's rude to interrupt Sakura like that, you baka!" The hokage turned to Sakura with an eerie smile on her face, "I don't think there is a problem here, Sakura-chan."

"Hn. She seems to be affected as well." Sasuke commented under his breath, pointing out the oh-so obvious, "In her current condition, we can't ask her anything about these events." Uneasy about the situation, Sakura's eyes wandered around the room until they fell upon a scroll that had a decorative heart resting on top of Tsunade's desk. A strong gut-feeling told her that the scroll would answer their queries, and so she dared to ask the hokage for the scroll. Tsunade nodded, and handed the scroll to the younger girl.

The scroll read:

"'Scelerata Amor', a special Latin curse that translates into 'Accursed Love'. When cast upon a person, a love that is both a curse and a gift is bestowed upon them. Everyone in their hometown who is opposite the victim's gender shall fall deeply in love with that person, while those of the same gender shall care about that person immensely. However, some exceptions to the curse are the --"

Suddenly, Naruto looked over her shoulder and said, "There's a smudge there!"

"Let me finish reading it!

-- The only way to break the curse is for one person who truly loves that person to confess their love for said-person."

She blinked, and placed the scroll back onto the desk, thanking the hokage for her 'help'. Tsunade could only smile and shake her head, constantly repeating that it was a pleasure being able to assist a wonderful girl like Sakura. Naruto shuddered slightly, and - along with Sasuke - escorted his female teammate out of the office and into the hallway. "So," Sakura said, glancing at Sasuke for a few seconds, "The only way to get everyone back to normal is to have someone who truly loves me confess their love for me." She immediately became engrossed in her fairy-tale fantasies, but was interrupted by Naruto, who all too happily volunteered to be Sakura's 'one true love'. Smiling and blushing, he said loudly, "I love you, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura twitched, and asked with a dryness in her voice, "Did it... work?"

"Let's go see." Sasuke said as he walked down the hall, his two comrades trailing after him. Once they left the building, Sakura made her way into the middle of the road and scanned the perimeter with her eyes. Seeing no one in sight, she smiled and said to Sasuke and Naruto, "I think it wo --" She was suddenly cut off by unidentified lips that had stealthily made their way to her own. All three were left speechless as the nameless owner of those lips ran off joyously exclaiming, "I kissed Sakura-san, I kissed Sakura-san!"

Sakura was stunned. The only thing she could do was stand there with her mouth agape, turning thousands of shades of red in over a minute. While she stood there stupidly, Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other in a strange, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" manner. Somehow understanding what the other was thinking, they nodded at each other, briskly sent Sakura on her way home, and took off after the bastard who stole their pink-haired teammate's first kiss.

-----

The very next day, as Sakura left her house, she noticed a flyer taped against her door. She squinted at it and examined the photo that was centered at the top of the flyer. To her surprise it was of the boy who had taken her first kiss. For a minute or so, she didn't worry about it so much... that is, until she read the bold print just below the photo: "Missing since yesterday afternoon."

-----

**Authors' Note**:

**CONTEST ALERT!**

For this chapter, we decided to make things interesting. We are going to hold a contest! Whoever comes up with the most hilarious answer to our question, they will have an opportunity to ask **one** question about our fanfic, that we will answer. The question is:

What did Sasuke and Naruto do to the boy who kissed Sakura the end of Chapter 3?

Use your imagination and be creative! To send your answer, you can either add it in a review, or send it to us in a message. The contest ends when we post up Chapter 4, and we will announce the winner! So that means you have a week or so to come up with the best answer you can think of! Thanks a lot!

- Erika and Mikka


	4. Hiatus Announcement

Hello to our fellow readers!

We are very sorry to say that we will be putting our fanfic on hold for a while. But! We will NOT be deleting it. Instead, it will only be on a (hopefully) short hiatus due to our very busy schedule. A lot has been going on while we are at school, and the stress continues to build up. However, we have already started on the next chapter of Love's Cursed, so we will try our best to post it up as soon as possible. Thank you for your support and cooperation!

And also!

The winner for our little contest is... Kikei! Good job! We enjoyed reading all of your entries!

Plus!

The next chappie will also be dedicated to Kikei, who has recently moved to the Philippines. We miss you!

- Love,

Erika and Mikka.


	5. Chapter 4

**Title**:Love's Cursed**  
Author(s)**: Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)  
**Pairing**: Sakura/?  
**Series**:Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: No... Don't own Naruto yet.

-----

The next morning, Naruto and Sasuke were at the Team 7 training grounds waiting for their pink haired teammate to arrive. To start up a conversation, Naruto asked Sasuke, "Last night was a fun night, ne, teme?" Sasuke couldn't help but give a smirk as he recalled what happened.

_Flashback_

_It was nighttime, and the boy who had stolen Sakura's first kiss was whistling happily in the park, proud with his accomplishment of kissing his beloved. As he was strolling down the park, he caught sight of the person he was just thinking about. Sakura was under a tree smiling cutely at the boy giving him a flirtatious wink._

_The boy gave a wide grin and ran towards Sakura, "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Did you come here to see me?" Sakura couldn't help but blush furiously. The young man was delighted and took the blush as a yes. "Well then! I was wondering if you wan-" _

_He wasn't able to finish his sentence, for he had been knocked out by a certain Uchiha. A big puff of smoke appeared and the person who was supposed to be Sakura was none other than Naruto himself. Naruto looked at the unconscious boy with disgust and hatred. "How dare you steal Sakura-chan's first kiss! As I promised, I will hurt anyone who touches Sakura! But you," he pointed accusingly at the boy who lied down at the ground, "you had the guts to KISS Sakura-chan! You will pay! I will never forgive you for this!"_

_Sasuke said in an annoyed tone, "He can't hear you, dobe." Naruto blushed slightly scratching the back of his head, "Eheh... I knew that. So what should we do to… him, Sasuke-teme," he said with a low growl._

_Sasuke gestured Naruto to follow him while Naruto grabbed the boy by the back of his collar, dragging the poor victim into the dark depths of the forest, where the insensible boy would face something so horrible, that even Hell could not compare to the fate that the boy will soon endure. _

_End of Flashback_

"Ohayou! Sorry I'm late! Some gross bucket of fish fell on my head so I had to go back home and clean up. "

His train of thought suddenly broken, Sasuke glanced at the girl who was running up to him and Naruto. He nodded at her in recognition as she finally reached the two boys where they stood. The blond boy beside him grinned his usual grin, and replied happily, "It's okay, Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei hasn't arrived yet anyway!" She let out a deep sigh, and said in a worried tone, "Ah... I wonder how we will be able to find the person who truly loves me... The more I think about it, the more difficult the situation becomes!" Naruto continued to beam at her, blue eyes welling with pure and vast confidence, "Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I promise that I will find the person who loves you the most, even if I have to risk my life to do so - Itte!" Those confident blue eyes suddenly filled with annoyance as they glared at the Uchiha, who had hit the top of Naruto's head in order to shut him up.

"Don't be stupid. Finding someone who loves Sakura won't require laying our lives on the line."

"Sa-su-ke-te-me...!" Naruto growled deeply, raising his fists slowly. Just as he was about to pounce on Sasuke and beat the hell out of him, Naruto was interrupted by Sakura's high-pitched shriek of terror. Immediately, the two turned to the pink-haired girl and said simultaneously, "What's wro -- eh?" Sakura's eye began to twitch, "This heart... Could it be... from Shino...?" Naruto straightened his posture, and asked innocently, "How do you know...?" He then received another bonk on the head, compliments of the oh-so cool Uchiha Sasuke with a side of: "Dobe." Naruto rubbed his head, wincing at the small pain that smarted incessantly, "Teme, what was that for?" His rival made no reply as Sakura, disturbed by the grotesque sign of affection, stared at the bugs.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the trees: "Do you like my present for you, Sakura-san?" Sakura tensed as her mind recognized the voice, "Eheh. W-why, yes, Shino... A-arigatou..." Shino then jumped out from his hiding place, and looked at Sakura through his dark sunglasses. She smiled weakly; somewhat uncomfortable with the current situation and the fact that Shino was incredibly out of character. Bothered by Shino's gaze at their teammate, Sasuke and Naruto stepped between the two, their eyes focused seriously upon Shino. The air was filled with discomfort, tension and solemnity until Naruto randomly blurted out, "Oh! So Shino _was_ the one who gave Sakura-chan the heart of bugs!" The other three sweatdropped and face-faulted.

"N-Naruto-baka..." Sakura mumbled in exasperation as the silence returned. After a few minutes of silent staring, Shino coughed into his fist, "So, anyways, Sakura-san. I was wondering if you would accompany me to the festival that is coming up." Sakura blinked, "A festival? Wha --" Before she could respond a loud bark interrupted her. Akamaru suddenly appeared, running up and tackling Sakura to the ground, licking her face eagerly. "Akamaru! Get off of Sakura-chan!" Kiba said from behind the small dog, who obeyed his command, whimpering slightly in apology. Kiba then glanced at Sakura, and blushed slightly, "Sorry about that, Sakura-chan." Sakura forced a laugh and a smile, petting Akamaru as she sat up. "How can such a small dog tackle me to the ground?" she thought in disbelief.

Kiba grinned a lopsided grin at Sakura, one sharp fang showing on one side of his smile. He held out his hand for a brief moment, but then immediately withdrew it when he spotted Shino, "Oi, Shino! What're you doing here?" Shino replied, "I was asking Sakura-san if she would like to go to the festival with me. And may I ask why you are here, Kiba?" The canine-like boy scoffed, "I was gonna ask her the same thing. Did Sakura-chan answer you?"

"Not yet."

"Alright! That means I still have a chance! Sakura-chan, do you want to go to the festival with me?"

From the ground, Sakura's eye twitched once more as she looked to Sasuke and Naruto, virtually asking for some assistance. The two boys noticed her sign for help, causing Naruto to exclaim, "She's going with Sasuke-teme and me!" Shino stared at him, brow quirked in an inquisitve manner, "Is that so? That's too bad." As soon as this was said, all the bugs returned to take shelter in Shino's attire. An icy chill rolled up and down Naruto's spine as he thought, "This guy scares me... What is up with him and those creepy bugs?!" Sakura finally scrambled up to her feet, and dusted herself off to mask her relief, thinking, "Maybe Naruto isn't such a baka after all."

"Oh. Well, I can tell that not everyone knows you three are going together. I overheard a lot of the guys are planning to ask Sakura out to the festival this morning." Kiba said with slight disappointment in his voice. Sakura's face grimaced as Inner-Sakura yelled, "Great, more stupidly annoying boys to beat up! Shannarou!" Kiba continued, "Well, we better go meet up with Hinata, Shino. Ja na, Sakura-chan!" Along with Akamaru and Shino, he ran off. Sasuke kept his stoical expression as he watched the two boys and dog run off, letting out a deep breath once they were out of eye-shot.

Then a poof of smoke appeared, revealed a smiling Kakashi, "Ohayou!" He paused as he took notice of his three students' faces - well, two students' faces, since one, of course, kept his cool, "What'd I miss?"

-----

**Authors' Note**:

Mikka: Holeh crap! XD It's been a while since we've updated!!  
Erika: Yeah I know! Geez, haha but then it was because of school. And no, it's not a lame excuse, because... umm... take it away Mikka!  
Mikka: Er, because... School is stupid... But... yet it is important... And, uh... Erika? XD;;;  
Erika: And, I have been risking my butt writing this chapter in the middle of class... but that's okay, we did it for you readers out there:D  
Mikka: ... Eheh... Anyway! O.O;; Um... This chapter is dedicated to PINJA! YEAH. X3;;  
Erika: Yes! She was actually the girl who made us update it sooner than expected.. by threatening us that she will be using.. CHINESE WATER TORTURE! -thunder clouds-  
Mikka: -screams- ... Eh? Oh. Right. I guess, that's it, Erika?  
Erika: Yup! We'll update as soon as we can! So please Read and Review!


	6. Chapter 5

**Title**:Love's Cursed**  
Author(s)**: Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)  
**Pairing**: Sakura/?  
**Series**:Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: We don't own Naruto. Stop mocking us! D;

-----

"A-Amazing timing, Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura thought with a small sigh, staring at the ground opposite the side on which Kakashi stood oh-so quietly. She then turned her head towards him, and said, "You didn't miss anything, Kakashi-sen --"

"Sensei! You missed a ton of junk - like, like... Kiba and Shino both asking Sakura-chan out on a date to a festival and we don't even know what festival they're talking about! Do you know what the hell they were talking about?!" Naruto exclaimed in one breath, then stooped over to rest his hands on his knees. He leaned his weight upon his arms and began to pant heavily, glancing up every once in a while to show his anxiousness. Sakura, completely obliterated by her teammate's abrupt exclamation, only blinked and stared, while Sasuke shook his head in disapproval of Naruto's display of rashness, and looked upon Kakashi for a reply.

"Oh, right. You three haven't heard about it yet..." Kakashi began, turning a page of his latest volume of Icha Icha Paradise; "It's a Sakura festival." The only sound that filled the air was of another page turning, but the awkward silence eventually passed. "Sakura... festival?" Sakura repeated after her sensei; "But... it's only August and..." Then a different idea suddenly smacked her full on the head. "Oh God." she uttered in horror, "Don't tell me..."

"It's a _Haruno_ Sakura festival..." Sasuke finished for her, a slight hint of annoyance in his tone of voice. Just before Kakashi could lead the conversation away from the festival to their current assigned mission, Naruto hastily interjected, "What?! A festival for Sakura-chan?! When the hell did they announce that?" Kakashi replied, "Not even a few hours ago."

"Are you serious?!"

Kakashi nodded in response, and when his blond student had finally calmed himself down, he took the opportunity to change the topic to their new mission; "Alright. Today we will be completing a D-rank (Here, Naruto let out a dissapointed groan only to receive a sharp 'Shh!' from Sakura.) mission. We'll be splitting up into pairs in order to look for a lost cat. The description given by the owner was: small-sized; has orange and white fur; and possesses a bell around its neck. As for the pairs, Naruto and I will search to the east, while Sasuke and Sakura search to the west. Got it?"

Sakura shook her head to disagree, and asked, "Anou, Kakashi-sensei... Shouldn't we look for the cat individually? We'll be able to cover more ground and... etou..." Judging by her outward appearance, she seemed to be thinking rationally about the mission in order to benefit the cat's owner, and not to mention the team members, by cutting down the searching time. However, inwardly, the girl was actually thinking that some time by herself, without any interruption by those of the opposite gender, would be good for her. After all, for the past day she had been stalked by countless guys; been asked out by those countless guys; and had an entire festival declared in her honour. Some badly-needed alone time was most definitely called for. Despite this intelligent thinking, however, her teacher decided not to take her suggestion.

"That's true, Sakura, but I'd prefer it with pairs. It'd be much better to have a partner help you catch the cat if you find it, instead of having to chase after it alone all day." Kakashi said simply as he turned another page of his book. Sakura sighed as her desperate excuse for solitude was defeated, eyes closed momentarily; "H-Hai, sensei. Shall we go then?" He nodded and signaled for the team to split up as he waved his free hand. Thus, the group took off with their respective partners in search of the missing cat.

-----

"Shannarou!" Inner Sakura exclaimed, throwing her imaginary fists in the air; "Why did I have to go with Sasuke-kun?! Especially at a time when no one will give us any alone time! Why am I so unlucky?!" Outside of her thoughts, Sakura grumbled to herself as they leapt from tree to tree, watching the Uchiha make his way ahead of her. He suddenly came to halt and stood upon a high branch, spotting the cat wandering around near the bushes. Seeing him stop, Sakura stopped as well, and whispered, "Sasuke-kun...? What is it...?" Sasuke looked directly at the cat, and pointed at it; "There." She followed the direction he was pointing in, and upon seeing the cute domesticated animal, sighed inwardly, thinking that the faster they get that cat, the faster they could leave. Quietly and stealthily, Sakura hid behind the cat, edging herself towards it slowly as not to make any sudden noises. Just as she was about to grab the cat, numerous calls were heard coming in their direction. "SAKURA-CHAN! Are you here?!" screamed a bunch of fanboys, causing Sakura to panic, while Sasuke inwardly cursed as the cat vanished in a flash.

The band of Sakura-groupies made their way closer, calling out for Sakura as they looked around the area. Sakura, still in a bit of a panic, turned to Sasuke and asked frantically, "S-Sasuke-kun! What do we do?" He looked toward the fanboys, who were closing in on the two, and thought for a brief moment before dragging Sakura into the bushes to hide. She gasped, "Sasu-" She was immediately shut up by Sasuke, who covered her mouth with his hand. "Be quiet or they'll hear us." Sasuke whispered, peeking through the bushes as the boys passed them.

The fanboys looked around again, dissappointed with not catching the sight of their beloved kunoichi. They eventually stalked off, continuing to look for her in the forest. Seeing that the coast was clear, another sigh escaped Sakura's lips as she and Sasuke left their hideout. However, at the slightest sound of her breath, the fanboys came running back yelling, "Sakura-chan! Is that you!?!" Sasuke cursed silently at the persistance and the unusually acute hearing of the boys, then removed his hand from Sakura's mouth in order to pull her along as he ran. And relying on Sasuke to guide her, Sakura glanced back at their - _her_ pursuers, shuddering as random guys squealed at her gaze. Suddenly, Sasuke had turned a sharp corner, dragging her down the road as she began to think of ways to escape from the many boys that were hot on their trail.

Without hesitation, she decided to do the first thing that popped into her mind. Poof! Sakura used the Henge no Jutsu to turn into a pink bunny with big emerald eyes. Hopping hurriedly after Sasuke, who had somehow not noticed Sakura's henge, she took one giant leap and settled herself in his arms. Surprised, but keeping his stoic expression, he noticed that the fan boys stopped, looking around for Sakura. "Where'd she go?" one boy asked. "Eh...?! Why is the Uchiha holding a bunny rabbit!" another one exclaimed. "It looks so cute! It reminds me of Sakura-chan!" another boy added.

"It does! It does!" one of the fanboys agreed, edging his way toward Sasuke; "Say, Uchiha, we'll take that bunny off of you. After all, you don't want to ruin your image! Eheh, so, let us have the bunny!" Sasuke stared blankly at the boy, then looked down at the Sakura-bunny. "No." he said. The large group of fanboys were taken aback, and simultaneously gasped, "What?!" Another boy ran up to Sasuke from the back of the group, saying, "Please, Uchiha, let us have it!"

"Hell no." Sasuke replied again, and then walked away from them. Sakura scrambled up Sasuke's shoulder, and checked to see if they decided to continue to follow them. Lady luck must have hated them, for the boys continued to pester Sasuke by asking for the bunny. They added something about putting it in their Sakura Shrine. Sasuke was getting annoyed by their whines and persuasion. Sakura just wanted to get out of there so that the fanboys would leave her alone, but she figured if she ran away now, they would only chase after her bunny form. "I'll pay you 1 million yen for the bunny!" Obviously, some of the fanboys were rich and desperate.

"I told you, I'm not going to give you the rabbit." Sasuke growled, becoming a tad bit annoyed, "Stop following me."

"We'll stop when you give us Usakura-chan(1)!" one guy exclaimed from the back. Sasuke and Sakura sweatdropped. "What the hell... They gave me a name?! It's an ugly one, too! Who the heck would want to be named after a bunny and a cherry blossom?!" Inner Sakura grumbled, running her hands through her hair. Sasuke was losing his patience hissing, "Leave or die." Apparently, some boys heard this comment and slinked away, but others remained persistent, wanting to get a hold of the cute little bunny no matter what. One random boy said, "It's not like you're that attached to Usakura-chan anyways! You're an Uchiha! Your reputation will be shattered if people see you with a cute and pink bunny!"

"Hn." Sasuke replied, "I don't give a damn about my reputation. Now, leave me alone, or I will really kill you." Then, another number of boys fled the scene, cowering at the sight of the Uchiha's complete seriousness on the matter of their deaths. Sakura smiled as the large group of fanboys slowly diminished, and thanked God. When the group of departing boys finally left the scene, there was only a small handful of boys who were willing to do anything to have their precious Usakura-chan.

Sasuke did his famous smirk, "So, are you five going to continue testing my patience?" The five daring souls nodded their heads, not turning their gaze on the rabbit that would be their prize for convincing the Uchiha to hand it over. Sakura sighed and thought, "Why can't these guys just give up already? This is so tiring..." Without having to let go of the Sakura bunny, Sasuke pulled out a length of wire and wrapped it around all five of the boys in a flash. Before long, he had performed the Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu upon the five; but seeing as they were of lesser skill than he was, performed it to a much lesser degree. However... it still hurt like a mother. After seeing the boys burn into a crisp, Inner Sakura was throwing herself another party, "Shannarou!! Sasuke-kun is so awesome! He did it to protect you, girl! CHA!"

-----

While Sasuke and Sakura were finishing off the fanboys, Naruto and Kakashi continued to jump from tree to tree, looking for the cat. "Why do we always have to be doing these types of missions, Kakashi-sensei?!" the blond boy whined as he made his way through the wooded area.

"Have patience, Naruto," Kakashi lectured, never tearing his eyes away from the forest floor, "later on you'll have your chance for a better mission."

"I don't have enough patience because I'm wasting it on waiting for you every morning!" Naruto muttered under his breath, also looking down at the ground. Suddenly, there was a flash of orange and white -- it was the cat that they sought. Naruto and Kakashi simultaneously spotted the creature and were immediately silent. Naruto leapt down from the tree and landed a few feet away from the target. He then crept up behind it and swiped it. Once the cat stopped squirming in his arms, Naruto smiled proudly and said, "I beat Sasuke-teme on this mission! Wait 'til I --" He was interrupted when an echo was heard in the forest: "SAKURA-CHAN!"

Still in a tree with his hands in his pockets, Kakashi sweatdropped; "Looks like Sakura will need some help..."

"Let's go save her!" Naruto did his nice-guy pose, accidentally letting go of the cat. Luckily, Kakashi had jumped onto the ground and caught the cat before it could escape; "Now don't get so cocky, Naruto." His student only smiled, and took off ahead of him. Kakashi smiled as well, and followed after Naruto. In a few moments, the two appeared on the scene, with the oblivious Naruto yelling, "Sakura-chan, are you -- Eh?" He stared at the sight before him: Uchiha Sasuke, the oh-so very awesome and good-looking supposed-genius of the Uchiha clan, was holding a cute pink bunny. This was way too much for Naruto to handle, so he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and pointing at Sasuke; "I knew you were gay, Sasuke-teme!" Kakashi couldn't help but smile under the mask while the cat made its attempt to squirm out of his grasp.

A vein pulsated in Sasuke's forehead as he frowned, grumbling, "Sakura... Hurry up and change back so I can kick that dobe's ass." Sakura nodded hastily, and seeing that Sasuke was pissed off, forgot to jump out of his arms before returning to her normal form. In a puff of smoke, she was human again, and totally oblivious to her team mates' blank stares. "What?" she asked, then Naruto exclaimed, "SASUKE-TEME, LET GO OF SAKURA-CHAN OR I'LL KILL YOU!" The kunoichi's eyes widened, and looked down to find that Sasuke was still holding her, his arms around her waist. Sasuke immediately let go and stepped backward as Sakura jumped toward Naruto and Kakashi, blushing. "Shannarou!" Inner-Sakura yelled ecstatically, throwing her arms in the air. Sasuke scoffed and shoved his hands into his pockets, "Like you could actually manage to kill me, dobe."

"Stop calling me that, teme!!!" Naruto whined childishly, while Kakashi smiled inwardly. He remarked, "This reminds me of a plotline from Icha Icha Paradise!" Sakura's blush was gone in a flash and her embarrassment turned into anger, "NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT THOSE PERVERTED BOOKS, KAKASHI-SENSEI!" He chuckled at this; "Now now, I was only kidding. The mission is completed, so let's go back to the owner's house, ne?" Sakura crossed her arms, and let out a small 'hmph,' before saying, "Alright, alright. Let's go." She then turned to Naruto and Sasuke, half-smiling. "Well?" she asked, "Are you two coming or not?" The two boys stopped glaring at each other to look at her, then gave brief nods before following their sensei and team mate to their next destination.

-----

When they finally arrived at the estate, Sakura and Naruto were stunned to see its actual size. It was an incredibly large house that nearly resembled a mansion surrounded with beautiful flowers, all of them complimenting the other with their bright and vibrant colors. Scattered across the gardens were smooth stone statues that were carved in the shapes of cats, and near the side of the house stood a statue of a large and majestic tiger. Beneath the stone tiger sat a small lake that contained brightly colored koi, swimming happily in their underwater home. "Sugee..." Naruto murmurred as he was dragged along by the rest of team seven, so he would not hinder them. They walked up to the front step, and Kakashi knocked on the Western-styled door. It suddenly swung open with a loud bang. There in the doorway stood handsome boy, around Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke's age, smiling widely, "Oh! I see you've brought my --" He stopped when he saw Sakura sitting on the ground, rubbing her forehead from the hit. "Just my luck." she grumbled, continuing to rub the sore on her head.

"Sa... kura-chan...? You're Sakura-chan! Ah, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to open the door in your face!" he exclaimed, "Please, please come inside and let me fix that for you!" He hurriedly helped her up, and pulled her inside the house as she stammered, "N-No, i-it's alright; it's nothing, really!" The boy continued pulling Sakura until they reached the living room; "I'm really sorry Sakura-chan. Oh! My name is Kenta by the way!" Sakura sweatdropped, "Eheh, hi, Kenta-san."

"Please wait here! Let me get you an ice pack from the kitchen!" Kenta said, smiling before he happily went into the kitchen to get the ice pack. A few seconds later, Sakura blinked and wondered aloud, "Did Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei come inside the house?," realizing that her team was not with her. Still outside, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and even the cat stared blankly as the front door slammed shut. "What... the... hell!?!" Naruto yelled out after a few moments of shock; "Sensei, that weird guy just kidnapped Sakura-chan!" He rushed up to the door and began to bang on it violently; "Oi! Open up! Give us back Sakura-chan right now, you fanboy!" Sasuke, bothered by Naruto's rashness, spoke up. "Quiet, dobe. He'll open the door sooner or later; he forgot to get his cat." he said in a deadpanned tone. "B-But, Sakura-chan..." Naruto murmurred, pointing at the door. Kakashi looked at the two boys and said, "Let's just knock again, and wait for him to open it again. We'll give him his cat, then we'll get Sakura and leave."

"Hn."

"Alright." Naruto knocked on the door twice, and waited for a few moments -- still no one came. He knocked again -- and there was still no response. In frustration, Naruto began to beat the door with his fists, yelling, "Why you low-down kidnapper! Let Sakura-chan go or I'll kick your ass!" Despite his loud yells and threats, Kenta happily fetched the ice from the kitchen and headed back to Sakura. He smiled and handed the item over to Sakura; "Here you go. I'm really sorry about what happened. Won't you please sit on the couch?" He pointed to a large, ornamented couch that was situated in the center of the living room. Sakura was feeling a bit uncomfortable without her team, so in an attempt to escape the weird situation, she said, "Err, well, my team is waiting for me, so I better le --"

"Aww, please, Sakura-chan? Just until your forehead gets a little better! You should rest!"

Seeing Kenta's begging face, Sakura reluctantly agreed and sat down with a sigh, pressing the ice pack onto her forehead. All of a sudden, a loud screech was heard from inside the house. It was just Sakura that screamed in surprise, seeing a kitten that looked similar to the one from the mission pounce on her lap. "Ahh! Kuting!" Kenta said, making his way toward Sakura and the small kitten. It only purred in content and settled itself on Sakura's lap, while Sakura, breathed hard and groped for the ice pack she had dropped in mid-scream. The owner of the cat sat himself next to her, and apologized again; "I'm sorry. I guess he just likes you..." The girl sweatdropped and smiled slightly, looking at the animal that began to sleep on her lap; "It's okay, Kenta-san..."

Outside, the males of team seven started a bit, eyes widening at the sound of the scream. "Something's happened to Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, suddenly filled with the burning flame of the need to protect Sakura. With immense and unnatural strength, he broke down the door and called out for Sakura. He hurriedly ran into the living room, while Sasuke and Kakashi still stood at the now-broken door. "...What an idiot." Sasuke grumbled, and stepped inside house with Kakashi. Naruto charged up to the boy without even glancing at Sakura and pointed a finger at him; "What the hell did you do to her, teme?!"

"Naruto-baka... What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm right here." an annoyed Sakura growled. Naruto's eyes widened and without a second thought, glomped Sakura; "Sakura-chan! I was so worried about you!" Sasuke and Kakashi arrived in the living room, staring. Seeing the rest of her team walk in, the pink-haired kunoichi immediately shoved Naruto off of her, grumbling. Kenta blinked and glanced at his door, "Hey! Who did that to my door?! And don't ever hug her again, whoever you are!" Naruto turned to Kenta and retorted, "I did that to your stupid door! And for your information, I'm the guy who found your stupid cat!"

"Which is, by the way, right here." Kakashi said randomly, holding out the cat toward Kenta. It wriggled out of his hands and jumped down, joining Kuting on Sakura's lap. "Oh... thank you." Kenta said, slightly embarrassed. "Alright. You've got your cat. Now, Sakura, Naruto. Let's go." Sasuke said, but Kenta said suddenly, "Wait! Wait, Sakura-chan, will you please go with me to the Sakura festival?"

Sakura tensed along with Naruto. His head robotically turned towards Kenta, and his eyes were like a demon's. He growled, "What. Did. You. Say. Teme.," as he activated his Rasengan. Kenta's eyes widened in fear as he stumbled back into his couch. "Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, eyes wide. Sasuke bonked Naruto in the head, saying, "Dobe, you're overreacting." Naruto's anger immediately turned to Sasuke; "Sasuke-teme! He just asked her out! I won't let that happen, I don't think you'd like that either!"

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

Kakashi shook his head, seeing his students continue to bicker. Sakura heaved a big sigh; "Anou, Kenta-san, I'm sorry. I'm going to the festival with my team already. Again, I'm sorry, but thank you for the ice pack." She took Naruto by the collar dragging him outside as Sasuke and Kakashi followed behind her. Kenta waved saying goodbye, though disappointed with Sakura leaving and rejecting him. Naruto huffed, "I could've beaten that guy up so badly..." Sasuke, being slightly irritated by Naruto, asked, "Can we go home now?" Kakashi shook his head, "Hold on Sasuke, we still have to report that we completed our mission to Godaime-sama."

"Hn."

"Let's hurry up and go then!" Naruto said, walking off in a random direction.

"OI. NARUTO-BAKA." Sakura yelled at him. The blond boy turned around and asked, "What is it, Sakura-chan?"

"The Godaime's office is that way." she replied, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Oh... I knew that! Hehe... Okay! Let's go!"

And with that, they returned to the hokage's office, reported the success of the mission and departed.

----

(1) Usakura-chan: a mix of 'usagi,' which means 'rabbit,' and 'sakura,' which means 'cherry blossom.'

**Authors' Note**:

Erika: Hey people! Sorry for the late update. Finals were hectic... But its over now! So as a gift, we updated as soon as we were done taking them.  
Mikka: Seriously, sorry that it took forever! XD; Um, we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter...  
Erika: Yeah, we tried making it longer than the others... Also, if you wonder why we chosed "Kuting" as the cat's name, well... it's tagalog for "kitten" and yeah.  
Mikka: Hehe, anyway! Please read and review! Reviews make us happy and more motivated to write! ;D -wink-  
Erika: Yep! And since this semester will be rougher -sulks-, we'll need all the motivation we can get. Mikka knows what I'm talking about...  
Mikka: Ahah.. -sweatdrop- Okies, peace out!  
Erika: Paalam! n.n


	7. Chapter 6

**Title**: Love's Cursed**  
Author(s)**: Erika (Rikatro) & Mikka (Mikka-kun)  
**Pairing**: Sakura?  
**Series**: Naruto  
**Disclaimer**: Okay. We. Do. Not. Own. Naruto.

-----

Naruto, Sasuke and even Kakashi were waiting for Sakura at the bridge a few days later. They had been waiting for two hours already, and the awkward silence and impatience in the group was about to make them all go insane. It was a few minutes or so before the males of team seven decided to go and look for their pink-haired teammate, when Sakura did arrive. Her hair was strangely drenched and flying around her head; there was bump on her forehead; and her clothes were in chaotic disorder. "Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, "What happened to you?!" She rubbed her forearm and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. My alarm didn't work for some reason, so I woke up really late... Then I ran into some pole that happened to be in the way as I was running, and I got this huge bump on my forehead!"

Naruto winced slightly, picturing the image of what Sakura had endured that morning. "Are you alright?" Kakashi asked with concern. Sakura nodded, sighing, "I've just been having a ton bad luck lately..." She then let out a groan. Within the past few days, she had received many bumps and bruises. Being a kunoichi, she didn't throw a huge fit about them, but it still felt odd why this was happening to her. Naruto gave an assuring smile, "I'm sure that the Haruno Sakura Festival will cheer you up, Sakura-chan! And, since all of us are here, we better get going!" Sakura returned the smile, though it was much less bright. She thought that maybe attending the festival dedicated to her would make her feel a little bit better. And as the team proceeded to the festival, Sasuke quietly observed Sakura, whose uneasy facial expression interested him... or would the proper word be 'worried?'

Well, believe it or not, he wanted to find out why all of these mishaps were happening to his team mate, for it seemed more than just coincidence... and he was definitely going to find out what was really happening.

-----

After a few minutes of walking, team seven came upon the Haruno Sakura festival's location. There were many food and game stalls, all decorated in Sakura's official colors: red, pink, and jade green. Banners and streamers hung from every corner as red lanterns were hurriedly being placed upon the stalls and several poles for night. At the heart of the festival sat a large, highly decorated stage with a large banner strung across the top, reading: Haruno Sakura Festival. Please enjoy! In Sakura's opinion, everything seemed pretty nice and her spirits were lifted quite a bit. But when workers began to bring in the merchandise for game and souvenir stalls, those spirits crashed back into the ground. Scattered throughout the festival, were Sakura's belongings: her clothes, her stuffed animals, her bed, you name it, all of them neatly organized within a certain booth.

"What... the heck...?" she asked aloud, completely stunned. The men of team seven looked at Sakura, then followed her gaze to the sight that gave her her strange expression. Naruto gaped as he spotted a ramen plushie he had given Sakura on a previous brithday being given to a fanboy who won it at a game of ring toss. "What's all of Sakura-chan's stuff doing here?!" he practically yelled as Sasuke studied the area. All of her belongings were there alright - right down to the toilet. How did it get there? We may never know.

Out of the corner of Sakura's eye, a familiar item was being carried past her, down toward the stage where other familiar items were being carried. Her head whipped around and to her surprise she found her diary. Yes, her very own diary in which she had just written an entry the very night before. Her eyes widened in shock and her body was frozen on the spot. While Naruto began to yell at a nearby worker, Kakashi looked down at Sakura as she began to mutter. She said quietly, "That was..." she gulped; "My..."

"Your...?" Kakashi asked with interest.

"My... MY DIARY!" she screamed loudly, taking off after the person who was putting her beloved diary in a glass display case upon the stage. She scrambled up onto the stage, and shuffled over to the case, thinking things like, "No, that can't be my diary." or "How did they get their hands on it in the first place!" Once recognizing the little pink book as her true diary, Sakura glared menacingly at the man who placed it there; "How the hell did you get my diary?!"

The man was completely ignorant of the angry kunoichi's question. Instead of responding with the proper answer, his eyes were shining brightly as he said, "What a surprise! Sakura-chan! You're here for your festival!" Sakura fumed slightly, but then covered her irritation and anger with a mask of tranquility... though it was all too believeable. "Can you please give me back my diary, please?" she asked through gritted teeth. The man shook his head and replied, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but this is the main prize for the auction!" Sakura's eyes widened.

"AN AUCTION?! No, no... This can't be happening..." she muttered to herself, slapping her hand on her forehead. She ran her hand through her hair as Sasuke and Kakashi arrived on the stage with Naruto behind them. "Sakura, why did you run off like that?" the silver-haired jounin asked her, "What happened?" Sakura grumbled a bit, and pointed at her diary that would be soon auctioned off to some weird person. "Is that...?" Naruto began.

"...Yeah."

He looked over at the man, who was still there for some reason, and pointed angrily at him; "Hey you! Give that diary back to Sakura-chan or I'll kick your ass!" The man simply shook his head, and gave his negative response again. "That's invasion of privacy, you know." Kakashi chimed in thoughtfully in hopes of persuading him. The man brushed off Kakashi's comment, however. He grabbed the microphone that was on the podium and said, "Welcome to our very first Haruno Sakura festival! Now, to begin our festivities, let us start in the auction of our lovely cherry blossom's belongings!" With that, everybody in the festival gathered around the stage with interest. "Now, I will be auctioning the belongings throughout different time periods of the festival! And keep in mind that the last object will be the most prized possession that Haruno Sakura owns - her diary!" The crowd began to get excited and were talking with great enthusiasm amongst each other.

Sakura felt like she wanted to kill the man who was basically auctioning off all of her secrets inside the small book. But then she thought, why break the man who didn't have the diary when you could break the box that did? With that, she attempted to break the glass, but unfortunately, it was a lot more durable then she thought. "Shannarou!" Inner Sakura yelled in rage, hammering at the box, "Why the hell won't you break, you damn glass box?!?"

By the time she had finally given up on destroying it, her favorite doll, her lamp and her empty lead pencil were sold to happy buyers. Though, she thought, they wouldn't be so happy once she finally hunted them down... "And so concludes the first part of the auction! The auction will continue in another forty-five minutes, so please enjoy yourselves during the break!" the man said into the microphone and stepped down from the stage. "Ugh..." Sakura moaned, cupping her face with her hands; "This isn't fair... Why does it have to be me?!" Seeing her and her state of depression, Naruto said in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, Sakura-chan."

"Yeah. We'll solve all of this soon enough." Sasuke added as he pushed his hands into his pockets, "But while we're here... Let's try... to enjoy ourselves." Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura looked at him in surprise. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and he looked in another direction; "... We've already taken this day off from training and missions. I really don't want to be wasting my time..."

Sakura gave a slight smile and agreed with a nod. Naruto whispered to Sakura and Kakashi, "I guess teme has a heart after all."

"I heard that, dobe." Sasuke said with a glare. The blond shinobi sweatdropped and quickly changed the subject; "Come on! You heard what Sasuke-teme said! Let's enjoy ourselves! So, where do you want to go first, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura pondered a bit, then said, "How about... the ferris wheel?" She pointed at the ferris wheel that was illuminated with lights. There was a pretty short line, so Sakura decided they should go there first. Kakashi gave a nod; "Yes! You three should enjoy yourselves! You know, get to spend more time as a group! I'll be over here!" He pointed at a bench and immediately sat there, whipping out his Icha Icha Paradise. Sakura mumbled, "Pervert..." and grabbed Sasuke and Naruto's hands, dragging them to the ferris wheel. When it was their turn to go inside, there was a small problem - only two people could fit in each box.

Sakura blinked for a second. She wanted to drag Sasuke in the box with her, but she didn't want to leave Naruto alone - she wasn't that mean. Sasuke and Naruto noticed this situation as well. Sasuke was about to say that he would skip the ride, but before he could say so, Naruto called out someone's name. "Hinata-chan! You're here, too?! Want to go ride with me on the ferris wheel!" he yelled out joyously. Hinata, who had just happened to be passing by, was startled a bit and her heart was beating quickly. "N-N-Naruto-kun...?" she stuttered, putting her hand over her heart, feeling it thumping in her chest.

He smiled at her, and asked again, "Want to go with me on the ferris wheel?" Hinata immediately blushed and poked her fingers together, looking down at the ground shyly; "A-Anou... O-Of course, Naruto-kun." When she looked up and noticed Sakura, she gave her a warm smile and greeted her with a happy, "Hi, S-Sakura-chan!" Sasuke gave a 'Hn' and said, "Come on, Sakura, we don't want the other people waiting."

"Okay, Sasuke-kun." Sakura replied with a smile as she and Sasuke were loaded into the compartment. The door was shut and locked in, the bar was lowered, and the large ferris wheel moved up for Naruto and Hinata. As Sakura settled herself against the end of the seat, Sasuke was at the other, crossing his arms and looking as bored as ever. Below them, Naruto and Hinata sat down comfortably in the compartment... though Hinata was incredibly red and fiddling with her fingers while Naruto only grinned, oblivious to Hinata's nervousness. And so the ride began, but then stopped so that Sasuke and Sakura were stuck at the top. "Wow! It's pretty up here, isn't it Sasuke-kun?" she exclaimed, looking out into the open, "But it would be a lot prettier at night when the fireworks are starting."

"Hn." was his only reply. Sakura looked at him, slightly hurt by his silence, but continued on with her happy speech, "Let's come back here tonight, okay?"

Her head lowered as she sighed in dissappointment, knowing it would be hopeless to actually make a conversation to the human ice cube himself. But what happened next surprised her.

"Fine."

Her head jerked up, and her eyes were wide. She couldn't believe it - Sasuke actually replied to her without his usual 'Hn.' She grinned widely at this - maybe she could be more of a friend to Sasuke now, instead of just his team mate. It was better than nothing, she supposed. While she and Sasuke had their small moment, Naruto looked at the blushing Hinata, confused as to why she was red; "Hinata-chan, are you sick? If you want, I can ask the guy to put us down." Hinata, turning even redder, replied, "N-no, Naruto-kun, I-I'm fine." He blinked at her, and asked, "Are you sure?" She nodded, and looked away, casting glances his way every once in a while. With that, both pairs enjoyed the ride until it was finished.

-----

The ferris wheel came to a slow halt, and passengers were let out two at a time. Sasuke and Sakura were let out first, and were followed by Naruto and Hinata, who were talking about, for some reason, different types of ramen available at the Ichiraku ramen bar. "I like the miso ramen especially with extra egg, but I also like barbecue pork ramen, and maybe some shoyu ramen sometimes..." Naruto said with a grin as his companion nodded from time to time, agreeing with his favorite ramen types. Despite herself, Sakura interrupted the two's conversation by asking them whether or not they wanted to return to the ferris wheel later on that night for the fireworks. Naruto grinned and agreed to it, as did Hinata. However, she wasn't as sure if she could since she promised she'd meet up with Shino and Kiba later that day.

"Oh, is that so, Hinata-san?" Sakura asked with a hint of disappoint in her voice; "It's alright if you can't make it, but just know that you're always welcome to join us on the ferris wheel!" She smiled at Hinata, who shyly returned it, saying, "A-Arigatou, Sakura-chan. Y-You're really nice; it's no wonder... y-you're so popular..." Hinata's fellow kunoichi sweatdropped at the compliment, but continued to beam anyway.

"Thank you... Anou, well, Hinata-san, do you want to hang out with us still? We have a lot more time before the next auction."

Naruto smiled at Hinata as well, and encouraged her to join in on their fun; "Yeah, Hinata-chan! It'll be great!" With her white eyes, she looked around for a moment as to catch a glimpse of either her sensei or her team mates. When she saw that there was no sign of them, she gave another sheepish nod and smile; "O-okay..." Naruto let out a loud "Yosha!" and turned to Sakura, asking, "Okay! Sakura-chan, where to next?!" Sakura put a finger to her lips, and thought for a moment before saying, "I was thinking that we let someone else choose this time." Sasuke, who was looking off in another direction in an indifferent manner, suddenly said, "It's your festival. It's only your right to choose where we go next."

"Oh, um..." she said quietly, but her voice eventually became louder, "Alright, I guess. How about we go on the swings? Those look fun, right?"

"Yeah!"

"H-Hai..."

"Hn."

The four walked to the swing ride only to encounter a very long line. Sakura sighed, and asked, "Do you guys want to wait?" Naruto and Hinata merely shrugged while Sasuke gave a blank look. Then a voice was heard from the line; "Hey look! It's Sakura-chan!" Another voice piped in; "Let Sakura-chan and her friends through!" The queue looked at Sakura and parted like the Red Sea. The pink-haired kunoichi sweatdropped; "Err.. Nevermind, let's go!" She went through the line as she thanked people as the three followed behind her. When they were individually seated in one of the swings, the ride started. Naruto was having a great time in the swings, until...

"U-ugh.. I-I think I'm going to be s-sick."

(Hearing this statement, Sasuke replied in slight aggravation, "Kakashi and I told you not to eat that much ramen for lunch, dobe.")

Naruto's face turned green, but he was determined to hold in whatever was threatening to escape his mouth. And after what seemed like forever, for him at least, the swing ride finally ceased. He swiftly rushed to the restroom, pushing the numerous people that were in his way. Hinata gave a worried expression at the running Naruto, but Sakura smiled at Hinata, saying, "Don't worry Hinata-san! He'll be fine." The other girl flashed a small smile; "Y-You're always th-thinking of others S-Sakura-chan!"

Sakura shook her head modestly, her smile never fading away from her lips. She glanced back down at the restroom door, and, along with Sasuke and Hinata, waited for Naruto to return. Five minutes had passed when their blond friend returned from his 'mission,' mouth rubbing his stomach pitifully; "Ugh... That was horrible. Remind me to never go on those swings again!"

"I don't think it was the swing ride, Naruto." Sasuke said suddenly; "As I said on the ride, you ate too much ramen before coming here." Naruto looked over at him and opened his mouth as if to say something, but his hand immediately clamped over his mouth. A small gurgle escaped Naruto's throat - and within a few seconds he took off back toward the restroom, shoving more people out of his way. Sakura sweatdropped, then turned to Sasuke. He looked back at her questioningly. "You, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei went to eat without me?" she asked him.

"...We couldn't wait for you that long, so we ate quickly at the Ichiraku and came back to wait for you." he replied simply, spotting Naruto as he exited the restroom. "Oh, well, it's alright, I guess." Sakura said with a shrug; "It was my fault for being so late, anyway." She then looked up and smiled at Naruto as he walked back to the group; "Welcome back, Naruto. Are you okay now?" He nodded, but his mouth was formed into a slight frown; "Yeah, but I'm still a little queasy though, Sakura-chan... Ugh..." Hinata looked around the stalls, and saw a highly decorated area designated (from what Hinata could see) for food and drink that could not be carried around the festival. "H-How about we g-go get some tea o-over there?" she said as she pointed over at a stall conveniently located near the place. Turning her head to face Naruto, she added, "M-Maybe the tea will be g-good for your stomach, N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled warmly at her; "You're so nice, Hinata-chan!" This caused another blush to form in the said-girl's cheeks. "Alright! Come on, let's go!" Sakura smiled, deciding that she would like to see the two together more often. When the group went to the conveniently placed tea booth, a man came up to Sakura. But out of instinct, her two team mates stepped in front of her, Naruto trying to control his nauseated stomach. The man smiled, ignoring the two boys who had just made a protective wall against him; "Sakura-chan! Would you do me a favor?"

"And that would be..." Sakura said cautiously, staring at the stranger with a look of uncertainty in her eyes. "Could you please take a picture with me!?" he asked excitedly, holding out his camera. She twitched - this weird guy wanted to take a picture with _her_? Ew! Holding down her temper, she stammered, "Um, well... I couldn't possibly..." He pressed on, saying, "Please? I want to show it to my brother and make him jealous!" ... And he wanted to take a picture with her because he wanted to make his own weird brother jealous. Good lord.

"That's a stupid reason to want a picture with her." Sasuke grumbled, crossing his arms as Naruto swallowed and added, "Yeah! Get lost, you pervert." The man frowned slightly, and gave the two boys another so-called 'good reason' for a picture with Sakura; "But if I get a picture with Sakura-chan, I'll be able to make millions of copies to sell to my friends!

Ouch, that was the wrong thing to say.

Now this weird guy is going to sell pictures to his friends, whom she assumed would be as strange as him! Sakura was uncontrollably twitching with anger, her eyes flaring with the very flames of the deepest depth of Hell. She shared these frightening flames of Hell with Sasuke and Naruto, who were just about to unleash a large can of whoop-ass. And why _wouldn't_ these two be angry? This weird man walks up to their teammate and practically says that he wants to take a picture with her to sell them to the pedophiles of Konoha. The two boys' hands clenched into fists, and simultaneously, they shouted, "There's no way in hell I'm going to allow that!"

Well... Sasuke shouted, "I'm," while Naruto shouted, "We're."

Hinata, Sakura and Naruto all glanced at Sasuke, who suddenly realized his out of character outburst. He looked at them from the side, quickly went back to glaring at the man in order to direct their attention away from himself. He then growled in a low voice, "Get the hell out of here before we kill you."

"B-But --"

"NOW."

"O-Okay! Bye Sakura-chan!" With that, the scary weird man sprinted - he knew well about the powerful Uchiha clan, and he _really_ didn't want to gain a first hand experience in how strong they were. Sakura huffed, and muttered to herself repeatedly, "Enjoy the night, enjoy the night, enjoy the night." Suddenly, a little girl tugged on her clothing. "Sakura-nee-chan! Can I have your autograph please?" the adorably cute girl asked, holding up a pen and a paper. Sakura gave a small smile and nodded, taking the piece of paper and pen to write her signature for the girl.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata went to the booth and bought tea for all four of the group, while Sasuke remained behind with Sakura. They took the tea and sat down at an empty table, watching Sakura finish up her autograph. Once Sakura was finished, she and Sasuke joined Naruto and Hinata to relax for a bit - after all, they were going to need it.

-----

**Authors' Note**:  
Erika: So, here's our chapter 6!  
Mikka: It took a long while to update, ne? O.o  
Erika: We're very sorry it took so long! U.U;;;  
Mikka: Seriously! Well, I hope you enjoyed this long, LONG awaited chapter! n.n  
Erika: And there will be a Part 2 for this Festival! Poor Sakura, her diary being auctioned off! D;  
Mikka: That's it... So, um, see you guys later! XD  
Erika: Yup yup! Bye! Please Review!


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